Blue Lab Beats has been a leading force in London's flourishing modern jazz movement since 2016, with more than 30 releases of its unique fusion of grooves, melodies, moods and beats. Following the five-song EP We Will Rise and a Bobby Hutcherson remix for the Blue Note Re-imagined 2020 compilation, Blue Lab Beats offers its third album and first full-length for Blue Note, Motherland Journey, on Feb. 25.
Blue Lab Beats' fame has risen recently with a Grammy nomination for their work on Angelique Kidjo's Mother Nature album, and a constant stream of singles and collaborations with Moses Boyd, Dua Lipa and many more. Their upcoming album is more proof of the duo's remarkably prolific output.
The BLB multi-instrumentalist producers NK-OK and Mr. DM pared down more than 70 demo ideas to the 17 tracks on Motherland Journey. The team-oriented pair welcome several guests, including singers Tiana Major9 and Ghetto Boy, keyboard star Kiefer and hometown horn players Kaidi Akinnibi and Poppy Daniels on sax and trumpet.
The title song was written in Accra, Ghana, with popular Ghanaian producer KillBeatz in an early-morning session that weaves in the vocals of the late Fela Kuti. The Afrobeat pioneer's estate gave Blue Lab Beats its blessing.
"His publishers came to us after hearing some of our music and wanted us to use his a cappella. ... It was such a crazy moment in our careers and still is," the group shared on its Facebook page.
The immediacy of thick, hip-hop-inspired beats and production meet with a reverence for traditional African percussion and melody with the improvisational freedom of jazz. It's a smooth, supple sound marking the evolution of music from the African diaspora, while honoring the diversity of the culture and the promise of its future.
Motherland Journey is available for pre-orders and will be in stock digitally in the U.S. Feb. 25.
